B 3

I earlier wrote about old radios and the strange sounds one can hear on the “sides” of the ‘allowed’ bandwidth, crackling noises or endless morse code, strange rows and rows of numbers (Zahlensender),  I seemingly made a little leeway, like the signal of a far away station because of incoming fog. But I would not describe myself as foggy; not yet.

It started with a link XL sent me, about Harald BODE (Ger., Eng.) the inventor of the Melochord (Ger., Eng.) and other early electro-electronical instruments we today summarize as synthesizers (German radio feature here) – if this is correct: I can not say whether this is still the right term because the technical evolution went that fast that I have no more idea how the digitalized small technical wonders today “make sound”  (a historical overview here). The most known early music instrument of this kind is probably Lev TERMEN’s (Ger., Eng.) Theremin (Ger., Eng.), because it was widely used in 1960s psychedelic music and produces a unique and distinctive sound. It was often used in films to produce space-themed music. I think in this context not so much about HOLST’s (Ger., Eng.) Planets (Ger., Eng.) but more of post WWII invasion phantasies, but I could not give an example now, and am too lazy and tired to trawl youtube. These films of the 1950s until 1970s are worth another post.

One can not mention the Theremin without referring to The Hammond (Ger., Eng.), Laurens HAMMOND’s (Ger., Eng.) invention without that 60s music, especially jazz-rock, is un-imaginable. Especially the B3 with Leslie speakers  (Ger., Eng.) has an unmistakable pulsating warm sound, and the list of Hammond organ players (wiki) is a kind of Who’s who of modern jazz and rock.  A modern organ has one really great advantage over a historical instrument with pipes – it’s not blowing the bellows, it’s simply the power of the stroke or touch you need: I once saw the hands of an organist who played a very nice and known historical instrument, he had hands like a blacksmith, really developed and ‘well defined’ muscles; demanding Great and Swell, and do not forget the footwork.

These two ladies show what can be done with a B3, playing with – and a little against – each other. It’s not Sunday Music, hope you enjoy nevertheless.

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